Come gather ’round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
Two weeks ago I walked over to Mario’s Deli on Vernon to pick up a something-parmigiana hero and a coke, only to find that the deli was no more. I don’t know if it’s closed for good, or just under renovation, but I’m inclined to believe the former as the telephone number no longer works. Old Italian deli’s notwithstanding, a better indicator of all the changes in LIC is the loss this year of Title I funding for PS78/312.
On Wednesday night, the local PTA held a meeting at the new K – 8 school, which started 15 minutes later than planned due to the number of parents needing to get signed in. According to a source, the biggest issue was the loss of Title I funding and the implications it would have on the after school program. It seems that this funding is given out on an “all-or-none” basis, according to the percentage of parents whose incomes are below a certain number. With the massive gentrification of LIC recently, this is the year we pushed through that threshold. The loss of funding means that the school will no longer provide after school coverage between the hours of 3pm and 6pm. In other words, the post-class daycare needed for parents who normally couldn’t afford it, of whom there were supposedly few in attendance. Those that did attend, and their light turnout may very well have not been indicative of their actual numbers, were obviously vocal about this loss. It basically means that they will have to make some very difficult decisions as to whether they keep their children at PS 78/312, or make an abrupt change and uproot them in order to receive this coverage elsewhere. Thus taking them away from their friends, and the continuity and familiarity of a school. Either way, it highlights the very sad downside of rapid gentrification.
In other news, an LIC townhouse just sold for $3 million, smashing the previous record price for a single-family home in the area. It’s the changing of the guard.
Finally, I’d be remiss in not passing on that the LIC Partnership, Long Island City’s version of The Chamber of Commerce, has announced a new President, Elizabeth Lusskin. This group has done a good job melding the disparate businesses of LIC together into a collective voice, and integrating it with the rest of the community. You can read Liz’s bio here.
LIC Rowhouse Sells for Eye-Popping $3 Million – let me tell you, it’s not a bad buy at that price either.
7-Train Service to Be Suspended for Five Weekends This Fall – in case you didn’t get my tweet two weeks ago!
New Bar In Dutch Kills Aims To Be Gathering Place For Changing Area – a typical conversation at this “local” watering hole might go like this “Hola Hans, I’m Guadalupe and this is my friend Xinmao”
CL says
October 1, 2013 at 9:14 amDoes anyone know what else transpired at the PTA meeting?
Ro says
October 1, 2013 at 9:45 amI guess we are going to have to do what all the other affluent school districts do – tons of fund raisers.
rexlic says
October 1, 2013 at 12:15 pmMario’s is indeed gone for good. I snagged what was probably the last sandwich made there when it shuttered a few Fridays ago. I should have had it flash frozen and saved for display in a future LIC Museum.
mk says
October 1, 2013 at 5:41 pmThe rest of the meeting was a calendar of fundraising events, voting on funding for an educational tool that helps identify children’s learning preferences (that is then passed along to teachers), updates on the new school building and approval of a new recess area in front of the old school (which has been secured). The interesting part about the after school funding was not just that the current after school program is going away (title 1), but that they are signing up for an enrichment program that offers a greater variety of programs than the previous one (music, tennis, ballroom dancing, etc). The key difference is that these programs will end at 4:30 rather than 6:00, so while the programs seem very interesting, there was some debate around the needs of parents that are more interested in having coverage until 6:00 (coverage while they are at work). The new programs are also paid vs previously free. It’s a hard one to balance because the new programs seem more “enriching”, but obviously there are people that are losing the benefit of extended coverage while they are at work.
CL says
October 1, 2013 at 8:28 pmThank you for the detail mk.
Ro says
October 2, 2013 at 10:16 ammk, I agree it does suck for parents that relied on the extended day. However, a lot of us knew that this would come to an end as the household incomes rose in the neighborhood. We are lucky we still have pre-k and hopefully that does not go away.
Anonymous says
October 4, 2013 at 10:42 amWhy should my taxes go to babysit your kid?
Anonymous says
October 4, 2013 at 1:48 pmActually, I don’t think much of your taxes go to subsidizing the school. Most of the money comes from property taxes, and many of the condos are exempt. So basically, other areas of NYC are subsidizing the school.
Anyways, maybe you can move to an island and make sure no one lives there who isn’t “earning his keep” immediately.